The promises of God are absolutely
certain, for they are first made to the man Christ Jesus as the
fulfiller and performer of the law. For all the promises of
God in Him are yea, and in Him, Amen, unto the glory of God by
us. Those for whom He came as a substitute
receive all of those promises as a result of His labor and
not their own, that God may receive all of the glory. There is no
requirement which is set forth in God's holy and righteous commandments
which He has not obeyed, satisfied, and fulfilled without any mixture
of error or lack of adherence to its most minute detail. There
is probably no greater blessing to the sons of God than when
they are able to fully grasp the significance of this truth,
and no greater occasion for them to fall upon their faces in thanksgiving
and worship for the unspeakable gift of His grace. The blessing
of the sons of God is the exact result of His labor, and not
that of those who receive the benefits of His promise. God's
people are blessed in Him, by Him, and through Him. They possess
no righteousness but that which is His, nor can they improve
upon any aspect of that perfection which He has provided for them.
It is this very truth which proves a great delight to the laboring
sinner who would try to bring something of his own to the Lord,
but discovers that even his righteousnesses are as filthy rags before him.
The exhortations and admonitions given to the sons of God serve
as a means whereby they are reminded of their corruption and are driven
to his feet to confess that unless the Lord build the house, they
labor in vain that build it. The greatest impetus for the
sons of God to walk according to the precepts of his word is
in the fact that he does constrain his people by love. If a man
must be hedged in by threats and penalties, then he is a stranger
to grace. Solomon lamented the vanity of
this world when he illustrated by the fact that men labor to
gain this world's goods, laying up in store and striving to amass
fortunes, only to see all of that labor come to naught, as
the fruits and enjoyment of that labor is left to others upon
one's death. There is not a man among us who
will not find that this proves to be true, for of a certainty
all men, their earthly possessions, and their work will soon be parted
forever. Yet this is gloriously not true
for Christ Jesus, that perfect man, who has labored to provide
that which shall never fade away, who has laid up for himself treasures
in heaven, where moth and rust corrupt not and thieves cannot
break through and steal. The scriptures speak of his joy
at the prospect of purchasing a prized possession and the glory
of his enjoyment of it forever. The scriptures speak of his joy
at the prospect of purchasing a prized possession and the glory
of his enjoyment of it forever. Looking unto Jesus, the author
and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before
him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is sat down at
the right hand of the throne of God, he has purchased for
himself a bride with his own labor and the blood of his own
hands, feet, head, and side, giving his back to the smiters.
He has sent his Holy Spirit into a far country, to the house of
his kinsman, to bring back that one who is the apple of his eye
to him, thus assuring that she shall be brought to his side
forever. Natural men look at the labor of their hands, and
having no ability to ultimately hold on to that gain for which
they have diligently worked, lament their efforts. However,
this man, Christ Jesus, surveys that which he has done, and counts
his sorrows and trial well worth the cost. So too does the Lord
with an even greater joy. The pleasure of the Lord shall
prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of
his soul and be satisfied. This is the labor of his hands,
that for which Christ bled, he has purchased with an irrevocable
price. Can his labor fail? Can his purpose
be overturned? Can one of those for which he
bled be called to answer for his sin, which has already been
borne by him who fulfilled the law in his behalf? O you who
grieve for your sin, I tell you there is one whose blood washes
away the darkest stain, one whose righteousness swallows up the
guilt of those bowed under its load. He is indeed labored for
that which perisheth not. He is the Savior of sinners.